REDLANDS: Former sheriff’s deputy sued over “investments”

But investors eager to earn the 15 percent to 50 percent returns they say were promised by a former San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy couldn’t resist.

The former deputy, Christopher Burnell, has been sued by five men who lost between $120,000 and $700,000 each, and an investment broker who lost $4.2 million of his clients’ money, one of them an elderly Alzheimer’s patient.

Some of the investors recovered part of their losses by getting court orders to seize Burnell’s property.

One got a Cadillac Escalade, platinum edition. Another got a three-story mountain house; a third, a $93,000 BMW.

The rest have little hope of recouping the money they gave Burnell directly, or through a mutual friend.

Burnell couldn’t be reached for comment. His home phone is disconnected. Messages left on his cell were not returned. His lawyer was relieved from representing him on Aug. 8.

The man who lost the most is John T. Thornes, then a Redlands investment broker who “loaned” Burnell and his friend, Kyle Larick, more than $4 million of clients’ money — without written loan agreements.

Thornes lost his livelihood and his investment firm.

Thornes & Associates Inc. Investment Securities, the firm founded by Thornes’ father, was shut down by federal regulators. Thornes is permanently banned from the financial industry. I tried repeatedly to reach him and his attorney for comment, but my calls were not returned.

One of the plundered accounts belonged to an Alzheimer’s patient whose trust fund was to provide for her lifetime care. The other was a scholarship fund set up by a friend of Thornes’ father.

Thornes sued Burnell and Larick to try to recover the $4.2 million. The money was spent on luxury vehicles, the home in Big Bear, gambling at the San Manuel casino and chartering a private jet, according to his settlement with federal regulators.

Reached by phone, Larick said he couldn’t comment because of “pending litigation and other investigations.”

Among others who sued Burnell: Scott Beard, a Rialto real estate broker who lost almost $700,000.

Beard said he was introduced to Burnell by Larick, a longtime acquaintance.

Burnell won his trust by saying he’s a retired sheriff’s deputy, Beard said.

He’s not. Records show he worked for the sheriff’s department on and off for several years but is not a retiree.

Burnell was also sued by Edward Boyd, who heard about the “investment opportunity” from his pastor at Oasis Church. He lost $150,000, but got the Escalade.